Dead Faith & Living Faith
Text: James 2:14-26
Core Idea: Saving faith in our hearts is evident in the fruit of our lives. Then knowing that works fueled by shuddering do not bring honor to God, let us endeavor to work out of our love for Him as we anchor ourselves to the gospel for it will empower us to live for His glory.
INTRODUCTION
Well, we are going through the Book of James – looking at different ways the gospel impacts our lives. And last Sunday, we learned that we shouldn’t show favoritism because our faith is in Jesus Christ our Lord of glory – that as recipients of this unbelievable mercy and grace, the gospel will now transform and empower us to be a community of mercy and grace for others. Today, James will take the opportunity to explain the difference between a dead and living faith – showing us what the marks of genuine salvation are. Then with this in mind, let’s open up our Bibles to James 2:14-26. Let me read this for us.
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder. 20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
Let me share three things from this passage:
· SAVING FAITH
· DEAD FAITH
· LIVING FAITH
1) SAVING FAITH
Verse 14, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?” A rhetorical question, as you know, is a literary device that’s used for the purpose of making a point rather than actually getting an answer. Then what’s the point that James wants to make? It’s that faith and works are inseparable; that faith without works is useless; that true, authentic, transformed, saving faith must always be accompanied by works. In fact, he repeats this point over and over again throughout this passage. Verse 17, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Verse 24, “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.” And just in case you missed it, he restates it again in verse 26, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” It’s clear that this was important for James. He wanted the believers to know that we are justified by what we do and not by faith alone.
Now, as soon as I say this, some of you may feel incredibly uncomfortable because it sounds like it’s contradicting what Paul said in the Book of Romans – in particular, what he said in Romans 3:28, “For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.” Here, Paul teaches that our relationship with God isn’t something we can earn by our works, but that it must simply be received in faith since it’s freely given to us in grace. Then do you see the problem here? Paul says, “We are justified by faith alone and not by what we do” – but James says, “We are justified by what we do and not by faith alone.” What’s going on here? Does this prove that the Bible is in fact full of error and can’t be trusted? Absolutely not.
Then let me share two things that will help us make sense of this. First, we must recognize that James is using the word “justified” a little differently from how Paul uses it. (Now, on a side note, if you’re looking for the word “justified” in James’ passage, it’s in verse 24 but it’s just translated as “considered righteous” which by the way could be more helpful – let me explain). Did you know that the word “justified” has two different nuances in both Greek and English? On the one hand, the word means “to be made right” – the definition that most of us are familiar with. But on the other hand, it can also be used as a way “to demonstrate or confirm that you’ve been made right.” Then when Paul says, “You’re justified by faith alone,” he’s saying, “You are made right with God only through your faith and not by what you do.” But when James says, “You’re justified by what you do,” he’s saying, “Your works prove that you’ve been made right with God. You’re considered righteous by what you do and not by a mere profession of faith.” Philip Melanchthon said it this way: “We are justified by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone.”
But here’s the second thing that will help us make sense of this – we must recognize that Paul and James were writing to two different audiences. Paul was writing to the Roman Christians who thought they were great sinners undeserving of grace – so, many of them thought that they needed to earn God’s favor through their works. They doubted the love of God – so, they worked to be loved. No wonder Paul wanted to remind them that they are justified by faith alone and not by what they do. But on the other hand, James was writing to the Jewish Christians who thought they were deserving of grace as the chosen people – so, many of them reduced faith simply to intellectual assent that was without works. They assumed the love of God – so, they failed to express their love for God. No wonder James wanted to remind them that they are considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. One gospel but two different remedies. It’s like one doctor telling one patient, “You need to gain some weight” – and another doctor telling another patient, “You need to lose some weight.” Both doctors are for health but completely different solutions according to the condition of the patient. Then in the same way, although it seems like Paul and James are contradicting each other, they’re both talking about the gospel but applying it differently according to the condition of their hearers.
All this to say, there is no contradiction – Paul and James are simply looking at the gospel from two different perspectives. And James tells us that faith without works is useless – that saving faith is always accompanied by works for works demonstrate that you have faith. He in fact gives us a practical example of this in verse 15 – “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” James basically says, “If you see someone in need and do nothing about it, even if you say some compassionate words, your lack of action speaks louder – it shows that you don’t really care.” It’s like saying, “I’ll pray for you,” but never doing it. James wants us to recognize the absurdity of claiming to have faith, claiming to be born-again, claiming to experience the grace and love of God, and yet doing absolutely nothing to help those who are in pain. And he wants us to be puzzled by it – shocked by it. “How can anyone claim to be a Christian but not live to love God and love others?” Well, are you? Are you shocked by the fact that some people have the audacity to claim that they have faith but do absolutely nothing? Or are you just crushed by guilt because this is something that describes you? It feels like your faith has been all talk and no action. Now, if this is you, I don’t want you to be quick to question your salvation. James didn’t write this to condemn and crush the believers – he wrote this to renew their hearts and strengthen their faith. So, as followers of Jesus Christ, if you are convicted by this truth, ask God for forgiveness. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” Let your sorrow move you to repentance, not to death. In fact, your repentance will prove that you certainly do have saving faith.
Brothers and sisters, James warns us that it’s possible to claim to have faith but have no faith at all. This is not saving faith. It is dead faith – and this should be repulsive to our hearts. Think of it this way. What if I told you that I got a puppy for you as a gift? Would you be happy? But what if the puppy was dead? Wouldn’t you be horrified? A puppy is adorable when there’s life in it – without life, it is absolutely repulsive. In the same way, I pray that we would see the offensiveness of dead faith. Saving faith is living faith – and living faith always produces fruit. That’s what James wanted us to know. But he doesn’t stop there – he shares specific examples of a dead and living faith, which leads to our next point.
2) DEAD FAITH
Verse 18, “But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’” In other words, this imaginary objector claims that it is possible to separate faith and works – that it is possible to have one without the other. So, James responds in verse 19, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.” James equates this objector’s understanding of faith to the faith of demons. Now, let me point out the two things that James shares about the faith of demons. First, they know sound doctrine. Demons believe in the existence of God – they believe in the deity of Christ; they believe in the presence of heaven and hell; they believe that Christ is the eternal Judge; they believe that only Christ is able to save; they even believe that the whole Bible is true and accurate. In fact, Jonathan Edwards claims that as fallen angels, these demons must know much more than all of us here. But that’s not all. Second, they not only know the truth, but they also shudder at the truth. This is significant because it shows that the demons aren’t apathetic toward the truth – they don’t mock it or make light of it. They actually shudder and fear because they know what God can really do. They’re constantly living in terror knowing that their fate is fixed – that they are ultimately destined for hell. But even then, it doesn’t lead to a transformed life – they still live in disobedience.
Then here’s what this means for us. Listen carefully: an emotional response to the gospel alone is not sufficient evidence of saving faith. The demons were emotionally affected by the reality of God – they were actually scared. But there was no transformation of the heart, the mind, and the life – they still lived in disobedience. Then, friends, I invite you to examine yourself to see if you’re deceived in thinking that you have saving faith just because you feel something. “I feel happy when I sing worship songs. I feel safe when I’m at church. I feel at peace when I’m surrounded by other Christians. Therefore, I must be saved.” Again, I’m not saying that emotions are bad – no, they’re extremely important in our relationship with God. But if your emotions are not accompanied by willful, joyful, and humble obedience, it may be that you actually don’t have saving faith. Yes, saving faith always includes emotions but emotions alone don’t prove that you have saving faith. It might be a dead faith.
But here’s another implication. It’s possible that your effort to be religious and morally upright might be nothing but shuddering. After you heard the gospel, you might have started to read the Bible, pray, go to church, give generously, and serve others. But as much as this has the appearance of saving faith, it could be nothing but shuddering – you’re altering your behavior just because you’re scared. It’s just insurance. “Well, I can’t prove that there isn’t a God. So, just in case He’s real, just in case what the Bible says is true, let’s just do the bare minimum to pass the bar. If this is all true, I certainly don’t want to end up in hell after I die.” James tells us that it’s possible to have an incredible amount of morality and religion and yet still have dead faith. Friends, I invite you to examine your heart to see if your obedience is motivated simply by this kind of paralyzing fear. Are you following Christ only because you don’t want to be punished – only because you don’t want to go to hell? If so, it could be that you’re just shuddering and that your faith is dead. Then what does living faith look like? This leads to our last point.
3) LIVING FAITH
In verses 21-25, James illustrates what living faith looks like from the lives of Abraham and Rahab. Now, many of us wouldn’t have noticed it but this would’ve taken the original readers by surprise – in fact, many of them would’ve been shocked and even offended. Let me explain. Abraham would’ve been the perfect choice to be used as an example of living faith – after all, he was the patriarch of Israel. James literally calls him “our father” in verse 21. They were proud of him. They looked up to him. They wanted to imitate him. But why Rahab? She was a gentile prostitute. Then why did James choose her as an example of living faith? Douglas Moo explains it this way: “So, alongside the famous and celebrated ancestor of Jewish people, a man, the friend of God, he places an obscure gentile woman of low moral character. Thus, he implies that anyone is capable of acting on his/her faith whether a patriarch or a prostitute.” In other words, through Rahab, James shows us that the recipient of grace is not limited by race, wealth, or status. Then no matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, no matter what was done to you, I want you to know that this saving faith is available to you today. Isn’t that what James is arguing in verse 25? “Was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous?” He’s basically saying, “If Rahab who you think is utterly undeserving of grace can be justified in Christ, don’t you see that anyone can be accepted as well?” Friends, if you ever feel like you’re not worthy of His love, if you feel like you’ll never be good enough, I want you to know that you’re in a good place – not because I want you to feel horrible about yourself but because grace is available to those who are spiritually bankrupt. It’s only when you recognize that you’re utterly empty, utterly undeserving, utterly hopeless that you’ll have the eyes to see that you’re also utterly loved by the Father because of what Christ did for you on the cross. Listen to what Pastor Tim Keller said, “We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” Friends, may you have the eyes to see that this is true of you today. No one is excluded from this reality. You are loved in Christ. Then come as you are. Ask Him to be merciful to you. Offer yourself to Him. And receive this wonderful love that He has for you.
Okay, then what did Abraham and Rahab teach us? They teach us that living faith does not hesitate to offer the most precious thing in your life to God for the simple reason that you love Him. Living faith would give up everything for Him not because it’s logical, not because it’s practical, not because it’s efficient, not because it’s beneficial, not because it’s easy – but simply because you love Him and because He alone is the treasure of your heart. Think about the life of Abraham. Abraham trusted God. When God said in Genesis 12:2, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing,” Abraham believed – so, he left his home and set out to the Promised Land. When God said in Genesis 17:9, “You will be the father of many nations,” even though he was childless at the time, Abraham believed – so, he patiently waited for God to intervene. When God said in Genesis 22:2, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love – Isaac – and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you,” Abraham still trusted God – so, he humbly obeyed not because he understood what God was doing but because he loved Him. Now, I know it’s long, but I want to read you the rest of the story from Genesis 22:6-13. I firmly believe that there’s power in the Word in itself. So, get comfortable and let the Spirit speak to you. But as you listen, just imagine the heaviness that Abraham must have felt throughout this story. “Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, ‘Father?’ ‘Yes, my son?’ Abraham replied. ‘The fire and wood are here,’ Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham answered, ‘God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ And the two of them went on together. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ He said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.’ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.” I can’t tell you if Abraham hesitated or not. I’m not sure if he was quick to obey or if he was wrestling through this all night. But one thing’s for sure – he obeyed because of his unwavering love for God. Abraham wasn’t shuddering – he didn’t do this out of fear that he might be punished. No, he responded in awe and respect – love and affection. He didn’t run away from God, but he ran toward God. He didn’t look for shelter from God, but he found shelter in God – which is why James says in verse 22, “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” Faith creates works and works complete faith. In other words, the more we trust God the more we will obey God – and the more we obey God, the more our faith will mature and grow. That’s what Abraham shows us.
Then what about Rahab? She was a Canaanite woman living in Jericho. Now, when the Israelite spies came, because she believed that their God was the true God, she hid them in her house and helped them escape by lowering them on the city wall. This is incredible because she did this knowing that she was betraying her own people – knowing that she could be killed for treason. Then why did she do this? Because she believed. Listen to what she said to the Israelite spies in Joshua 2:10-11, “We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” This by the way is quite amazing if you think about it. Her knowledge was limited – she didn’t know much about God. In fact, all she had was some hearsay – she didn’t even get to validate what she heard. And yet when she heard that this God had the power to save, that was enough for her. She believed and immediately committed her life to the Lord. Now, I know that there are some of you who are still on the fence. You’ve heard the gospel and you understand it. But you’re still waiting for something. Friends, if this is you, maybe Rahab’s story is telling you that you don’t have to have all your questions answered – all you need to know is that He saves, and He certainly did. Then if you know that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you so that you can be forgiven of your sins and have life in Him, don’t delay – choose to believe Him today. In one sense, just as Rahab did, take a risk and surrender your life to Him and you’ll know that that wasn’t a risk at all but the best decision you’ve ever made.
Rahab was considered righteous for what she did. Even though her works were different from Abraham’s, they both demonstrated that living faith is an active faith. Then brothers and sisters, are you willing to risk everything for the Lord today? Are you giving yourself to Him simply because you love Him? Are you willingly sacrificing yourself for His Kingdom purposes every single day?
Now, I want all of us to be very careful because if we don’t, it could just lead us to shuddering. We could do all these things just because we’re scared. Then how do we make sure that our works are not a means to earn God’s favor but a proof of God’s grace in our lives? By anchoring ourselves to the gospel. The gospel tells us that there was another Son – God’s only Son who God loved with all of His heart. But the story tells us that the Father led His Son up the mountain and laid Him on the cross. And instead of sparing His life by providing a substitute, God struck His Son and killed Him so that He could be our Substitute. And He did this for one reason – simply because He loved us. Then just as Abraham did not withhold his son purely out of his love for God, God did not withhold His Son purely out of His love for us – so that we could know Him, so that we could have this living faith, so that we could actually live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. Now, do you remember what God said to Abraham in Genesis 22:16? He said, “Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.” Then if you believe in what Christ did for you on the cross, you can say the same thing to God, “Now I know that You love me because You have not withheld from me Your Son, Your only Son.” Brothers and sisters, are you doubting His love for you? Look to the cross. Are you tempted to make your works nothing but shuddering? Anchor yourself to the cross. Are you wondering how you can make your works a demonstration of your living faith? Be empowered by the cross.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, saving faith in our hearts is always evident in the fruit of our lives. Then knowing that works fueled by shuddering do not bring honor to God, let us endeavor to work out of our love for Him as we anchor ourselves to the gospel for that alone empowers us to live for His glory.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) Read Romans 3:28 and James 2:24. How do we make sense of this seeming contradiction in the Bible? How do they help us to understand the gospel better?
2) In verse 14, James speaks of someone who claims to have faith but has no deeds and asks, “Can such faith save them?” Can it? If not, why not? Why are faith and works inseparable?
3) What do the demons believe about God? How does it affect them? What warning should we take from this?
4) What is living faith according to James? Examine the lives of Abraham and Rahab. Then examine your own life. Are you experiencing transformation after professing faith in Jesus?